By Shelby Deering | Photography by Joan Masters
Come chilly temperatures, we all seek out new ways to have fun, fresh experiences — indoors. Luckily, this time of year, you can find several intriguing classes that aren’t run-of-the-mill to try. Want to learn about worldly cuisines, mix up your workout routine or explore your artistic side? They’re all here.
CREATE THE PERFECT COCKTAIL
Even if you have a tried-and-true potion that you enjoy sipping during happy hour, it never hurts to liven things up with something new. The Cocktail Mixology Class (Dec. 7) at the Wisconsin Union through its Wheelhouse Studios is taught by the Union’s catering team. The class will teach the “art and science of crafting a great beverage,” as Tony Wise, Wheelhouse Studios operations director, puts it. union.wisc.edu
CULTURAL FOOD CONNECTIONS
You can treat winter as a time to discover cuisines and warm your belly, and the Pakistani Tea Time – Samosas class (Nov. 15) is a way to do just that. The course is taught by White Jasmine’s Huma Siddiqui- Seitz at Marshall Community Library. Participants will learn how to whip up Pakistani delicacies and learn about traditional tea time in Pakistan, in which hot tea is served with home- made snacks, like samosas, a fried pastry, along with mint and cilantro chutney dipping sauces.
“Attendees will walk away with a sense of the rich and hospitable Pakistani culture and some great food tasting,” Siddiqui-Seitz says. marlib.org
HIGH-FLYING FUN
If you’re tired of the treadmill, why not try the trapeze? Instructor Hildy Feen teaches the Adult Movement Workshop: Intro to Low-Flying Trapeze (Nov. 15) at the Madison Circus Space, and explains that single-point low-flying trapeze, which was developed by modern dancers in the 1970s, treats a trapeze bar as a “dance partner.” She says that by the end of the class, participants experience what it feels like to “float” above the floor, using the bar as their lifter. You’ll also take part in conditioning exercises to strengthen your back, core and legs. madisoncircusspace.com
SHARING STORIES
The four-class Personal Timelines series (Nov. 13-Dec. 4) offers participants the chance to tell their own stories using poetry and visual art that’s a unique take on a memoir. At the Arts + Literature Laboratory, class-goers will learn “poetic forms and collage techniques,” which is how poet, interdisciplinary artist and educator Michelle Seaman describes it.
“I want to demonstrate how to capture important moments or periods in our lives through art,” explains Seaman. “Essentially, I want to encourage people to play and create in a supportive environment and share their lives through words and images.” artlitlab.org
DECORATIVE DESIGNS
With the holidays around the corner and winter officially set in, you might be craving some interaction with the natural world. At Olbrich Botanical Gardens, most of the plants outside might be dormant, but inside, they’re alive and well — at least in the form of dried materials for making ornaments during the Natural Material Ornament Workshop (Dec. 7).
Katy Nodolf, the Olbrich’s public relations and marketing manager, says that materials will include such things as pinecones, dried flowers and other matter sourced right from the gardens. olbrich.org
